Cecilia mcdowall, composer

"On February 27, the National Flute Orchestra gave the first performance of a new work commissioned by them at the Birmingham Conservatoire, called Crossing the Bridge. This was the first time I had heard the orchestra play and I was surprised and delighted by the colour and textural variety which the NFO brought to the work. I knew the performance of Crossing the Bridge would be very good indeed but had not expected such a wide range of nuance and precision from these talented performers. I do hope the work will appeal to more flute choirs and that it will indeed, 'cross the bridge'."

Andrew downes, composer

"This excellent group, founded in 2008 by Margaret Lowe and Kenneth Bell together with the Birmingham Flute Commission, is formed from fine players from all over the UK. I had the privilege of hearing them rehearse my Sonata for Flute Choir in March 2009, and was delighted by their expertise, commitment, and immediate understanding of the technical and artistic demands of my music under Kenneth's highly professional direction."

“The National Flute Orchestra is an excellent ensemble made up of flutists from all over the UK. Their blend of sound and rhythmic accuracy are exceptional. Not only are they are a pleasure to work with, their spirit of friendship is very welcoming.”

Kenneth Bell, NFO FOUNDER conductor and former chairman of the British Flute society

"Over recent years the lower instruments of the flute family have become more easily obtainable by players and this has greatly enhanced the tonal and musical potential of the traditional flute choir. We now have an ensemble with a range of octaves and dynamics to fully realise the musical content of pieces within a specific instrumental soundworldin the same way as, for example, a string orchestra or brass ensemble. Leading composers such as Andrew Downes and Cecilia McDowall have already contributed high quality original music to our repertoire and there are many exciting possibilities for the future artistic development of the ensemble."

Jo griffiths, composer

“I attended the NFO’s concert in November (2013) to listen to “Jongleur”, a piece I had recently written. The orchestra captured the playful nature of the piece and delivered its somewhat erratic and surprising rhythms with energy and precision. The tumbling and clown-like motifs throughout the piece were played effortlessly and the whole performance was a credit to the high standard of performers in the NFO.”

“It was a great pleasure to welcome the orchestra to St. Thomas’s again, and thank you for putting on such a splendid programme.”

Graham Smith, chairman, Local and live concert series

(2015) “It was an interesting programme, spanning a wide range and style of flute music. The description of the various flutes in the orchestra provided a fascinating insight into flutes. The concert clearly met our object of providing quality Local and Live music.”

(2016) "It was a very enjoyable programme, with some well-known compositions and music composed specifically for the family of flute instruments. I am sure that the audience appreciated your blend of traditional and new music, painting sound pictures from American wildlife to recapturing the delightful Waltz King’s Blue Danube. The audience were also fascinated to hear the wide variety of sounds provided by each instrument."

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